The Terminator of West Genetics
by Vergil2142
Summary: Left crippled during a Nova's attack, Ichigo Kurosaki is given a new lease on life thanks to the experiments of Kisuke Urahara. Now all he needs to do is learn to live with these new changes, help an army of superhuman girls defend the planet and keep his secret safe...easy right? Rated M for violence, language and adult situations.
1. Chapter 1

**An Augmented Strawberry**

Hi. This takes place after the defeat of Aizen, but assumes that Ginjo and the Vandenreich do not step in. It is approximately 14-15 months after Aizen's defeat.

**Chapter 1: Rebirth**

The sun shone brightly over Karakura Town, the sounds of the everyday hustle and bustle, painting a picturesque setting to any that gazed briefly over the town. Inside Karakura General Hospital though, the frantic shouts of doctors and nurses alike lent credence to a day of sorrow, as patient after patient was rushed to and fro, to surgery, from surgery and in some cases…to the morgue. It was to this scene of mass hysteria that a lone man in his late thirties with spiky black hair and a stubble-covered chin, rushed into. Behind him, two girls approximately the same age, one with light brown hair and the other with equally dark black hair, panted for breath from the exertion of keeping up with the larger man's stride.

Spotting what appeared to be the nurse in charge, judging by the clipboard in her hands and the frequent orders she barked out, he hurried towards her, while his daughters trailed behind him. "Ichigo Kurosaki?" he asked hesitantly, causing the nurse to turn in his direction.

Eyeing him briefly, she sighed as she understood that their security had thought him a doctor here to help, instead of a distraught family member looking for news about their loved one. Hiding her irritation, she briefly flicked through her clipboard and winced as she read the injuries the patient in question was presented with. "Dr Ishida is currently operating on him in OR 4," she said, picking up on the panic in the young girls' eyes as she spoke. Debating with herself for a moment, she decided against informing them of his low odds of survival and briefly gave them directions to the waiting area nearby.

Taking the clear sign of dismissal, Isshin Kurosaki sighed as he led his daughters towards the waiting area, trying to block out the sounds of pain as they walked. After settling his daughters down and unable to cope with the continued cries of agony, he jumped in to assist the stressed physicians. Hour after hour he worked; barely taking a break even for a moment, for it was in such moments that he thought back to his son and the uncertainty as to his fate. Soon though, the last of the patients had been settled in for observation and he was left to nurse a cup of coffee, even as his daughters lay curled up in the waiting room chairs, a blanket draped over their sleeping forms.

It was to this scene that Ryuken Ishida strode out into, dressed in green surgical scrubs and drenched with sweat after several gruelling hours of surgery. "Isshin…" he murmured softly, startling the man who seemed to have drifted off into his own little world. Following after his peer, Isshin's heart began to beat frantically once again as they neared the doors of the operating room. Ushered into the sterile room, Isshin had to shade his eyes briefly as the bright overhead lights dazed him. Yet as his eyes adjusted, a choked sob escaped his throat and tears poured from his eyes, as he took in the sight of his first born, his body hidden under a thin white sheet, while several tubes and wires poked out from it. Reaching out with his hand, he hovered hesitantly over the heavy bandages wrapped around his eyes, afraid to touch him lest he damage the boy even more. Settling on his son's hair, he gently combed his fingers through his blood-matted lochs, his tears continuing to fall.

"He will live Isshin…but the standard of life may not be to his appreciation," Ryuken whispered, drawing Isshin's puzzled gaze towards him. Drawing level with the man, he lifted the sheet from the boy's body, causing Isshin to actually cry out in shock, before he muffled his fist in his mouth. "His injuries were extensive…and while we were able to repair most of the damage to his internal organs, his limbs were crushed beyond repair, forcing us to amputate them. The damage to his optic nerve is another matter entirely. If the shrapnel had pierced him an inch or two to the left and he'd have been dead instantly. It's a miracle he's even lived up until this point," he said with a sigh. Seeing the man nod his head in understanding, he clapped him lightly on his back and withdrew from the room, never before feeling so grateful for his own son's wellbeing.

Left alone with his son, Isshin continued to stroke his hair, lost in his own thoughts as to his son's future. He wasn't left to ponder long though, as two presences made themselves known, their arrival heralded by a whisper of wind. Not bothering to acknowledge their presence, Isshin watched as a man with a slight build and platinum blonde hair joined him as his side, his expression grim as he took in the sight in front of him. Across from him, a petite raven-haired woman dressed in a black kimono, seemed just as broken over the body in front of him, her violet eyes tear stained.

"What did the doctors say?" Kisuke Urahara asked him, his own mind rapidly rushing to the conclusion that the young man's outlook on life was looking positively bleak.

"He'll live," Isshin choked out, rubbing the tears away from his eyes. "But his life…it will never be the same again," he muttered, drawing their attention to his missing limbs.

"What of his soul though?" Rukia Kuchiki questioned them. "It should be unaffected by what happened to his body. We could…" she started to say; only to fall silent as Isshin held up his hand to silence her.

"They're calling it a miracle that he was able to live through this Rukia," he began softly. "I…I just can't bear the thought of forcing him into the afterlife when he clearly fought to live."

"But his life…what can you really expect from him now Kurosaki-san?" she asked, her eyes darting back to the boy's prone form. "When he wakes up and see's the state he's in, he might scream and curse us for not just letting him die. Is his human life really worth the pain and suffering he will go through?"

As the two silently debated their opponent's points in their heads, Kisuke began to mumble softly under his breath, occasionally inspecting the stumps that were left behind and the bandages that covered his eyes. When he withdrew to a corner, his hand reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a holographic display, Isshin finally grew tired of his secretiveness and rounded on him.

"What are you thinking Kisuke?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

Glancing over at his long-time friend, Kisuke looked uncertain as he returned to the boy's bedside, a small black palm-sized scanner in his hand. Sweeping it briefly over the boy, he remained silent as countless lines of indecipherable code scrolled down.

"Kisuke!" Isshin repeated again, his tone indicating his lack of patience with the scientist.

"What if I could offer your son part of his human life back Isshin? What if he didn't have to live life as a cripple?" he asked in a deadly serious tone, his eyes shaded under his green and white striped bucket hat.

"H-How?" the distraught father stuttered out, his eyes showing his disbelief, while the Soul Reaper next to him was equally gobsmacked.

"The details matter little Isshin, what I'm offering is giving your son the chance to live his life on his own, without the need to depend on others…will you let me help him regardless of how I do it?" the scientist countered, his evasiveness unsettling Isshin.

"He will still be part of our world correct? The Living World?" he asked, even as his gaze met the scientist's.

"Wholly and completely, he'll just be a unique individual in it once again."

Sparing a glance at his son's body, Isshin could only nod his head in defeat as he gave in to his friend's plan.

"You won't regret this Isshin and Ichigo will probably thank you for making this decision," Kisuke murmured softly, before turning to face Rukia. "Kuchiki-san, in order to do what I have planned, Tessai-san I will be using certain techniques that the Soul Society has classed as forbidden…I trust that the Soul Society will forgive us this one time to save its hero?"

Eyes widening in shock at what the scientist had planned, Rukia found she could only nod her head, at the very least acknowledging that nothing she said would deter the man.

Seeing that he had all the permission he needed, or wanted, Kisuke briefly stuck his head outside the operating room and called for his assistant, speaking in hushed whispers as he explained his plan. As they watched the large man's expression morph from blank to shocked, Rukia and Isshin could only shudder at what they had agreed to. Seeing the man nod though, they stepped back even as he walked over to operating table.

"Isshin, you may want to step outside the room for a moment, your daughters will be understandably distraught if they find both their father and brother missing. And Rukia, surely you can help calm them down, a womanly touch and all," Kisuke mentioned, before ushering the two out of the room, before shutting the door and locking it with a whispered incantation.

Before they could do much more than blink, there was a blinding flash of light, accompanied by an ear-splitting roar from within. Frantically pulling at the door, willing it to open, they suddenly stumbled into the room as the pressure keeping it closed vanished. As they scanned the room though, they found not a trace of either the two men or the boy within.

"Kurosaki-san…what did we just agree to?" Rukia asked haltingly, her body slightly shaking as she took in the slight damage to the room.

Still reeling from the shock of what had just happened, Isshin could only dumbly shake his head, even as Ryuken came charging back into the room, his expression a mixture between fury and disbelief.

XXX

In the Urahara Shop though, Kisuke stood over Ichigo as they wheeled him towards his private lab, a grim expression on his face, as he felt some form of regret for the ruse he had pulled. Sure his plan was to help Ichigo, but whether the boy would thank him afterwards was anyone's guess. Stopping within the centre of his most treasured sanctum, he pressed lightly on one of the floor panels, summoning a vast array of robotic arms that looked eerily like something out of a futuristic Sci-Fi movie. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly as he took his place behind a computer terminal, Tessai standing at his side. Nodding briefly at his assistant, Kisuke began to rapidly type into the terminal, causing the arms to spring to life and descend on the unconscious teenager.

XXX

It was several days before Ichigo finally showed a hint of movement and it was mainly because he felt…heavy. Yes, heavy was the right way to describe how lethargic he felt at the moment, his arms and legs resisting his desire to move, even as part of him desired to stay underneath the warm blankets that covered him. Opening his eyes slightly, he blinked dozily as he took in his surroundings, briefly pondering why he was lying on bed, right in the middle of room he did not recognise as his own. Hearing a pair of muffled voices, raised in anger, he closed his eyes again and tried to recall his last memory.

'_There was the trip to Tokyo…something about broadening my horizons or something,' _he thought, disjointed images of his weekend trip flashing across his mind. _'I was…coming home and then...that thing appeared.'_ His breathing began to intensify as the image of a creature shaped like a spinning top was in the forefront of his mind, it's body well over 50 feet in height and at least 30 feet in width, while several tentacle like protrusions sprouted from its sides. It had no discernable eyes or face, except for a minor protrusion from the top that looked vaguely like a head. Barely a second after registering it though and the train he was on was sent flying, the passengers screaming in terror as they were trapped within. It was soon drowned out by the high pitched metal screech as the train tore into a nearby skyscraper, scattering other passengers every which way, while he and several others remained pinned within the wreckage. He could just remember a young girl crying in agony as her arm was bent in completely the opposite direction, before they were overcome by a sudden sense of vertigo and the train car went crashing into the ground, silencing her.

Bolting upright with a cry, he let out an explosive breath that he hadn't realised that he had been holding in, his sweat-soaked sweater clinging to his torso, even as he held a gloved hand to his forehead. His cry had alerted the others that he was awake though and soon he was surrounded by his close friends and family, their expressions varied between sorrow and joy. It was his fathers and Kisuke's expression that worried him though, the former the epitome of rage, while the latter appeared guilt-stricken.

"Ichigo!" "Kurosaki!" "Onii-chan!" "Ichi-nii!" he heard so many of them call out, causing his sensitive ears to ring from the sheer volume.

"I…I'm fine…" he croaked out, his throat parched and itchy as hell from the lack of water and use. Taking in their expressions though, he now detected a hint of…fear. Again the answer came to him without thinking, but why? Why would they be afraid for him? Or was it of him? "Water…please," he begged, hoping for the soothing relief of the cool liquid.

Soon a glass of the clear, cool liquid was offered in front of him. Reaching out to greedily devour the contents of the glass, he was surprised as Tessai held it out of his reach.

"Please allow me Kurosaki-san," he murmured gently, offering the glass once again.

Scowling at the treatment, Ichigo allowed the man to place the glass at his lips and give him a few slow sips to wet his throat. When he felt that he had pandered enough to their desire to baby him, he snatched the glass out of the unaware man's hand, much to the shock of those around him.

Before he could tilt the glass back to gulp down the contents though, he was surprised to feel the glass shatter in his hands. He hadn't squeezed it that hard had he? No, as far as he was concerned that was no harder than he would normally hold a glass. Staring at his hand, he was suddenly aware that yes, his arm was heavier than he ever remembered it.

"Kurosaki-san, please…let me explain," Kisuke pleaded with him as he grabbed both of Ichigo's hands, stopping the teenager in his mission to tear the gloves off.

'_Why? Why are you stopping me? What aren't you telling me?'_ he thought, even as he fought the former Captain off and tore off the glove on his right hand and froze in shock. Instead of the smooth, slightly tanned skin he knew, he now stared at an obsidian coloured prosthetic. Even as he thought about flexing his fingers, so too did the robotic appendages in front of him. Startled at his discovery, he began to hyperventilate, even as he frantically began to tear the clothing covering his body and with each discarded piece of cloth, more and more metal was revealed. When he was down to just his boxers, he finally stopped his search, his mind trying to reject what he was seeing.

"I'm sorry Kurosaki-san…it was the only way to save you," Kisuke whispered, even as the teenager fainted from shock.

XXX

About an hour later, Ichigo woke with a groan, clutching his head as it throbbed in agony. Feeling the cool metal of his arm though, he paused and jerked away from it, warily examining it as if it would snap at him. When nothing happened and berating himself for thinking something would, Ichigo swung his legs over the side of the bed, gingerly putting his weight down on his new robotic limb. Seeing a body length mirror in the corner of the room, he took his first few hesitant steps towards it, ignoring the slight discomfort it caused him.

On closer inspection of his arms and legs, he realised that only part of it was made of metal, while a significant portion of it was also made of tough plastic cables. His arm prosthesis started at his shoulders, replacing his natural arms completely, while his leg prosthesis began just above his knee, leaving him with his torso and part of his lower body intact. Well except for the ports that ran across his chest and down his spine. Examining his face, he was dismayed to find that his once brown eyes were now a light green colour and the most minuscule parts visible to him. Hearing a cough behind him, he turned to find Kisuke observing him, just as he was himself.

"I…must apologise for what I did to you Kurosaki-san, but I do not regret doing it," he muttered as he joined the teenager in front of the mirror. "You were little more than a torso in a hospital bed and personally that seemed too great an affront to someone who willingly sacrificed a part of themselves to ensure the safety of our world."

"What have you done to me Urahara?" he asked hesitantly, the lens in his eye rotating and focussing as he swept his gaze over the room.

"Ah, well I thought it would be easier to show you than tell you," the man replied in a sombre tone. Tapping one of the panels on Ichigo's arm, the two of them watched as it slid back, revealing a network of wires, each pulsing with a light blue glow. "You must understand Kurosaki-san, technology of this calibre is not available to humanity due to the energy requirements of such devices, but due to my expertise in the field of reishi and its manipulation and Mayuri's in the field of artificial limbs, I was able to devise a method to convert your raw reiryoku into a usable energy source for these prosthesis."

"How could you harness something, that shouldn't even exist Urahara?!" Ichigo snapped at him. "I gave up my powers fighting Aizen just over a year ago!"

"Indeed you did Kurosaki-san, but ever since the attack your reiryoku has been steadily increasing. One might assume that the attack you were a victim of was the catalyst to restoring your powers." Tapping his arm once again, the plate slid shut and a soft whirring sound echoed through the room as it was locked into place. "Your arms and legs are of course far stronger than a normal human's and prolonged exposure to your reiryoku will continue to strengthen it, to what extent even I can't be sure."

"As for these ports on your chest, well…" here he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a snapshot of what looked like human heart, with a thin black exoskeleton wrapped around it. "I needed somewhere to convert your reiryoku into viable energy source, so I added a small modification to your heart to facilitate it. There are also various wires running through you to link your prosthesis into your Central Nervous System."

Stepping back to stare at the teen in his electric green eyes, the scientist lightly prodded at a hexagonal shaped indent in Ichigo's right temple. "Your optic nerve on your right eye was damaged and rather than leave you with a set of mismatched eyes, I replaced them both with a cybernetic replacement. And last, but certainly not least, there is a chip in your brain that allows you to understand the sensations that each of your augmentations is sending back to you."

Turning to stare at himself in the mirror, Ichigo could only stare in disbelief at the fact that he was probably more machine than man at the moment, but the harsh reality was that if Kisuke hadn't done this to him, he would live his life as a cripple for the rest of his days.

"It will take you some time to get used to these changes Kurosaki-san, so for that reason I have disabled some of the functions that your new body can perform, they will of course activate on their own once your mind has healed enough to accept them."

'_Accept them…tch,' _Ichigo scoffed as he turned away from the scientist and made his way back to the bed. _'I was told that both my hollow and Zangetsu were the source of my powers. This…this is so much more to take in than that was. What will happen to me as I age, will I even age normally being more machine than human?' _Turning to face his reflection in the mirror, he was surprised to find his eyes zooming in on his body, providing an in-depth examination the likes of which he could never imagine. Unable to stare at himself anymore, he collapsed back onto his bed, his right arm covering his face, all the while muttering, "This is not my body…" under his breath.

XXX

Let me know what you thought please.

Teaser for the next chapter:

"_I thought that you'd like to know more about the creature that is responsible for doing this to you Kurosaki-san. In fact…what if I told you about an Academy that trains unique individuals to fight back against them?"_

"_Does this…Academy have a name?"_

"_Indeed it does. It goes by the name West Genetics…"_


	2. Chapter 2

**An Augmented Strawberry**

Thanks for the response everyone. A lot of you have mentioned using Orihime's powers to restore his limbs, but other than for the purposes of my story, I will try and explain why this was not the case realistically. Review replies are at the end of the chapter, otherwise read on and enjoy.

**Chapter 2: Learning the Ropes**

"Gack!" Ichigo grunted as he was sent flying back from a roundhouse kick, crashing into one of the pillars in the underground training area of the Urahara Shop. Looking up, his cybernetic eyes stripped away the cloud of dust in front of him, revealing the Flash Goddess standing in the distance, her usual cat-like grin on her face. Growling in agitation, he flexed his arms and legs, hearing the rock crumble under the force of his artificial limbs, before he charged forward once again.

It had been just over two weeks since he had woken up to find his arms and legs replaced with cybernetic replacements. When he had questioned why they hadn't just had Orihime heal him, he was shown the uncomfortable reality of the attack. For one, she wouldn't have made it in time to save him just after the attack and with emergency services treating people with the most extensive injuries first, well he couldn't just be pulled from a hospital. Secondly, being one of the few survivors of the attack, his situation was picked up by the media and it was fair to say that everyone in at least Japan knew his name by now. Of course seeing that Kisuke had kidnapped him shortly after his surgery, the authorities were actively searching for him too. Thus when they eventually found a way to reintegrate him into society, he couldn't just show up looking like nothing had happened.

So after hiding underground for over two weeks and having nothing to do but read manual after manual from Kisuke about his _'upgrades'_, he was sorely in need of something to vent his stress against. Of course his friends couldn't stay with him the entire time, not to mention sparring with a normal human was completely out of the question, leaving him with very little choice when it came to sparring partners. Cue Yoruichi in a gigai and you had someone that was able to withstand his attacks and was more than skilled enough to give him a challenge. As he was sent flying again though, it couldn't be said that she was taking it easy on his rebuilt body.

"Dammit Yoruichi…" he gasped, struggling to his feet once again. He just needed to get one hit on her; just one and he'd feel that he'd at least achieved something.

"Come on now Ichigo, you're not giving up are you?" she taunted him, tossing her head to the side, causing her hair to flutter in the breeze.

Glaring in her direction briefly, Ichigo shook his head and shut his eyes, taking a slow deep breath as he mentally ran through a list of functions his implants were capable of. To Yoruichi's surprise, she watched as a crackle of electricity flowed from his head down, rendering him completely invisible to the naked eye. _'So he's at least unlocked the cloaking system,'_ she thought with a smirk, catching his fist inches from the back of her neck and retaliating with a quick jab at where she estimated his torso to be. Making contact with nothing but air, she suddenly felt her arm being yanked forward, sending her flying into what would certainly be a knee aimed at her gut. In a display of phenomenal agility, gigai-bound or not, she placed her palm on the striking knee and used the momentum she had to spin herself upside down. Smirking as she imagined Ichigo's gobsmacked expression, she brought he heel down where his head should've been, feeling the satisfying crunch as her limb connected.

Landing in a flourish without a hair out of place, she looked over her shoulder to see Ichigo reappear to the world, lying flat on the ground, rubbing his skull as he groaned in pain.

"I thought I had you," he grumbled, sitting up so that he could address her. "How the hell did you know where I was?"

"Experience and the fact that I could still sense you," she said with a grin, holding out a hand to help him up. "Remember I was the Head of the Special Forces, as well as Captain of the Second Division Ichigo, evading an attack without seeing it is as easy as breathing for me," she explained, pulling him up with a grunt due to his heavier weight. "Your cloaking system hides you from the naked eye, but the slight sounds you make as you move still give you away. Still congratulations on using it, against someone other than a Captain or Lieutenant and you'd probably have taken the fight there and then."

Grunting his acknowledgement of her comment, he scratched the back of his neck, bristling slightly from the foreign feeling against his skin. Seeing his reaction, Yoruichi frowned at him.

"Still not any better?" she asked, cupping his chin with her hand and turning his head away from her.

"I'm…better," he explained. "At least now I'm not bruising myself from not knowing how much force I'm using. Tessai-san still won't let me use any actual glassware though," he finished with a grimace, thinking of the sheer number of glasses and plates he had shattered while trying to learn to control his strength.

"And your clothing?" she asked, gesturing to his bare torso and jean clad legs.

"Still ripping the shirts I have to pieces," he mumbled. "My jeans are just a lot harder to tear."

"And your…underwear?" she asked with a grin, while he gained a light blush to his cheeks. Hearing the soft scuffle of footsteps on the ladder, he turned towards the entrance to the underground area, his eyes zooming in on Urahara as he descended the ladder. Waiting for the scientist to join them, Ichigo could tell that he was excited about something, if the smirk on his face, the glint in his eyes and general confidence as he walked towards them were any indication. "Urahara-san," he said in greeting, waving in his direction.

"Kurosaki-san, Yoruichi," the scientist greeted them cheerfully, his signature fan in his hands. "My sensors indicated that you used the _Mirage_ system for the first time, congratulations."

"Your…sensors?" Ichigo asked haltingly, afraid of the answer.

"Ah yes, there are several monitoring your vitals and whether your implants are in need of maintenance. They also inform me when you discover one of them for the first time."

"I see," he replied, feeling a hint of unease at having something reporting back about his activities, in one form or another. "Was there something else you wanted to discuss?"

"Ah yes," Kisuke replied, reaching into his jacket and withdrawing a thick yellow folder that he held out to Ichigo. Reaching out for it, Ichigo began to go through it, his cybernetic eyes widening in shock. "That is some of the information I've been able to gather on the creature that attacked you, or Novas as they're referred to by the rest of the world. From what I can tell they are…"

Tuning out Kisuke's comments, Ichigo was rapidly assimilating the information in front of him, the lack of weaknesses of the Novas at the forefront of his mind. Reaching the section of how they were normally combatted, he couldn't believe that an organisation called Chevalier used bits of the very things they fought against to fight back against their attackers. What made it even worse to him was the fact that they trained teenage girls, who they referred to as Pandora, as their soldiers.

"Kurosaki-san? Kurosaki-san? Kurosaki-san!" Kisuke shouted at him, dragging the teen out of his own world with a slap from his trusty fan.

"What?!" Ichigo snapped at him, irritated at being distracted from the report. He could absorb information a hell of a lot faster than before, but the danger was that he would have holes in his memory if he didn't go through it properly when he first received it.

"I was just saying that the Soul Society has classified the Novas as the Living World's problem, since they have not proven to be a threat to the afterlife. Now knowing you, I want to know what you're going to do about that little bit of information?"

Frowning at his one-time teacher, Ichigo walked a few metres away, browsing the folder intently once again. From the tone of the report, while the Pandoras and their '_Limiters'_ were certainly having an effect, they weren't proving to be nearly as effective as hoped, their own death toll rising year-on-year. Reading over what made the Pandora so special, he stripped them down to nothing more than a living human with enhanced strength, speed and the ability to use a special weapon that was unique to the individual for the most part. He most certainly wasn't a Pandora, but that didn't mean that he didn't have the strength or speed to help and if the Soul Society wasn't going to get involved with this…

Seeing the familiar scowl of determination form on his face, Kisuke and Yoruichi shared a look with one another, a resigned sigh escaping from the former, while the latter chuckled and shook her head.

"Urahara-san, I don't suppose you know how I can get in contact with someone from this…Chevalier group?" he asked, holding the page detailing the organisation and the academies they established to train Pandoras and Limiters.

"I might know a man that could help us, but I'm afraid that your strength won't be enough to convince him to let you join them. Of course I know a way that he might listen, if you're interested of course…" he stated with a smirk, while Ichigo stared back warily. Getting a hesitant nod, he gestured for Ichigo to follow him up to the shop. As they stopped outside one of the many rooms, Kisuke swept back the sliding door and ushered Ichigo into a room littered with countless books and reports, causing the teenager to groan at what the scientist clearly meant for him to do. "While you are stronger than before Kurosaki-san, you'll find that some opponents require a bit of thought to defeat. In fact this one is called an _'Entrance Exam',_" he said with a chuckle leaving the teenager to his own devices.

XXX

_**Several Days Later**_

A tired groan escaped Gengo Aoi's throat as he tossed the report in his hand back onto his desk, rubbing his tired face with the other. It had been a few weeks now since the last Nova attack and as Chevalier's Chief Scientist, he found himself pressed continuously for answers he simply didn't have, or want to give. Glancing to his side, he spied a photo of himself and his family in happier times, times when his grandson hadn't stared accusingly at him for allowing his granddaughter to become a Pandora. Times when he hadn't watched his daughters sit frozen in suspended animation due to their unique and dangerous situation. Times before the Nova…

Hearing the clink of a plate being set down on his desk, he spotted his bodyguard and Chevalier's strongest Pandora Su-Na Lee setting out a sandwich for him. "Thank you," he mumbled, even as he reached over and plucked one from the plate. Taking a bite, he slowly chewed on it and turned on the TV in the corner of the room, switching it to one of the national news channels.

"…_and in other news, Emergency Services have announced that they have found almost all the missing persons from the Nova attack on Karakura Town and are in the process of allowing clean-up crews in to begin the restoration of the area. This news was met by public outcry as many claim their loved ones are still trapped within the rubble. A spokesman for the agency stated that considering the amount of time other potential survivors have been trapped and their possible injuries, it is unlikely that anyone is still alive. Speaking of survivors, Police are still searching for one Ichigo Kurosaki, one of the lone survivors of the attack, who went missing shortly after the surgery to save his life."_ A photo showing a teenager with shocking orange hair and brown eyes appeared in the upper right corner of the screen, his expression clearly annoyed at whoever was taking the photo._ "When the Police questioned the hospital staff as to the possibility of Mr Kurosaki disappearing on his own, one incensed staff member was heard shouting 'How could a crippled teenager escape from his own hospital bed?!' before storming away. Still with little evidence to go on and no eyewitnesses at the time of his disappearance, it seems unlikely that he will ever be found."_

"My, my they certainly are blowing things out of proportion aren't they?" a jovial voice spoke up, causing the two of them to turn to it in surprise. Leaning against the wall of his office was a tall thin man with light blonde hair, dressed in a green shirt and pants, a dark green jacket and wearing green and white striped bucket hat. Pushing himself off the wall, he strode towards them, his cane echoing slightly as it clacked over the wooden floor. "He will be re-joining the world shortly, as soon as we find somewhere for him that is."

Seeing Su-Na's body tense and her shift into an attacking stance, he held up a hand stalling her. "And what can I do for you Mr…?" he asked, hoping to determine the strange man's motive for visiting him.

"Ah yes I am of course breaking-and-entering as some would say. Kisuke Urahara, it's a pleasure to you Gengo Aoi," Kisuke stated as he reached out and shook his arm, his tone still cheerful. "And this must be Su-Na Lee; I never expected to meet an actual Pandora when I came here tonight." Holding his hand out, he was unsurprised to see that she didn't return the gesture.

"This is a restricted area, how and why are you here?" she asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Well your security was certainly impressive, but you see…to a man of my talents, they're merely an annoyance. Rest assured I didn't cause any permanent damage to your systems," he said, taking a step back and seating himself across from Gengo. "As for why I am here, I merely wanted to discuss the enrolment of a student of mine at one of the Genetics Academies."

"Well then I suggest that you speak to the administration department at your closest Academy to have your student tested," Gengo replied with a hint of irritation. "Should they prove compatible, then they may be accepted as either a Limiter or Pandora. Good day Mr Urahara," he replied, trying to dismiss the man in front of him.

"Well you see that's where the problem comes in, while I do not doubt that he could be a Limiter in the future, I do not believe that is what he wants, not to mention that it would be a colossal waste of his talents."

"A waste of his talents…" Gengo asked, stunned at the Kisuke's arrogant tone. "The Genetics Academies exist for the sole purpose of training Limiters and Pandoras to defend us from the Nova. If your student is unable or unwilling to become either one, then I suggest you stop wasting both my time and yours, and simply leave. Su-Na, if you'd be so kind as to escort Mr Urahara to the guards so that they might escort him off the premises."

"Of course," she said with a slight bow, before walking towards Kisuke. "I trust you will make this easy on yourself and come quietly…"

"And here I was hoping that I wouldn't have to hurt you," Kisuke said with a sigh, just as Su-Na grabbed him by his shoulder. Before she could do much more, she gasped out as she was forced to the ground by an unknown force. Glancing up at Kisuke, she recoiled slightly from his expression. Gone was the mirth and in its place was a cold, hard grimace. Confident that she wouldn't be interrupting him again, he turned his gaze on the other man. "I was hoping to convince you without this, but if this is what it takes for you to understand, then so be it," he muttered, reaching into the inner folds of his jacket and pulling out a small black square.

Flinching as it was thrown at him, Gengo fumbled with it briefly, before holding it in the palm of his hand. As he tried to ask what he was supposed to do with it though, a green blinking light appeared at the top right corner of the screen. Glancing suspiciously at Kisuke, he tapped the glowing button and watched as numerous lines of data appeared on the screen. Reading it over, his eyes soon widened in stunned surprise. For Pandoras and Limiters, they were implanted with Stigmata in order to grant them the power to fight back against the Nova. In most cases this meant that a small percentage of their body was in fact made of Nova tissue. What Kisuke had outlined here and done if the report he was reading was true…it went far beyond anything he had ever imagined, either for Project Pandora or…

"I was inspired by your Project Valkyrie," Kisuke spoke, drawing his attention briefly. As he opened his mouth to ask how he gained such confidential information, he was silenced by the same grimace that had stunned Su-Na. "I've already proven that your security protocols are little more than annoyances to me, please don't make me repeat myself. Moving on…my student was left a cripple after the last Nova attack. As such I took it into my hands to help him regain part of the life he lost."

"And this was your answer?" Gengo asked incredulously. "What you've done…it goes against what it means to be human. How does he feel about how you have used him?" Seeing Kisuke sit in silence, Gengo made to continue, before he suddenly found himself silenced by the same force that Su-Na was currently being incapacitated by.

"It has been my experience, that only with great sacrifice can victory be achieved. How many people have you buried since the beginning of this Nova crisis? How many more will you bury, because you don't have a better way to fight back? You and I are alike in so many ways Aoi, mostly in the way that we placed the future of the masses, over the future of those closest to us. My student doesn't know the full story behind what I've done to him…but he will when I'm ready to tell him." Standing up, Kisuke made his way towards the door, turning briefly to address them one last time. "My student and I will be at the West Genetics Academy in two days, I trust we will see you there too. A word of warning though, if you tell anyone about what you've read, or if that information in your hands is used to manipulate him in anyway, I want you to know that there won't be a place in this world, or the next where I cannot find you and you will beg for death before the end."

As the study door shut after him, the pair let out an explosive breath as the force keeping them in place released them, Su-Na recovering far faster than Gengo thanks to her enhanced durability. "Are you really going to give in to his demands?" she asked as she stood, her feet unsteady.

"I don't think I've been given much of a choice Su-Na," he replied with a tired sigh. "What he's done, it could provide another means to fight back against the Nova." Watching him continue to browse through the disk, she reluctantly dropped the subject. "Do we at least know the name of the student he wants admitted" she asked in resignation.

Frowning back at his bodyguard, he flicked through the data quickly, searching for a name. When he found one though, his expression morphed to one of disbelief and he glanced between the TV and the handheld device. "His name…is Ichigo Kurosaki."

XXX

Another week, another chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Review responses below.

**Hordie, Kyram:** Indeed I did base him off of Adam Jensen, but I plan to have a bit of fun with the exact details, as well as some of the implants.

**Tahaku: **The pairings are undecided at the moment, but unfortunately it will not be Orihime. I will probably go for a single pairing and not a harem.

**Arrankor, Webb360, Damaio The End, Murdock93, HodgePodge97:** I still plan on building on my answer as to why Orihime didn't regrow his limbs here.

**Guest (My first reviewer too):** I will try to update at least once a week, much more than that I can't promise.

To the rest of the reviewers, thank you for your kind words of support. I'm going to do away with the teaser this time since I completely scrapped the original scene it was a part of.


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